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328
JAIN RAMAYAN
King Dasarath went to his chamber to take rest. The waves of thoughts that had arisen in his mind had not abated. Wherever he cast his eyes he visualized that old and decrepit attendant. He went to bed to forget him. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he could not sleep. All his efforts to forget the old attendant were in vain. The vision of the old attendant's decrepit body shook him and filled him with a subtle fear. Naturally, he remembered his past. Till then he had lived a life of pleasure, pomp and power. But he had not acquired the qualities of spiritual excellence. The image of himself as he had lived so far appeared to be ugly and disgusting. Dasarath decided to destroy that image of himself which possessed pomp and power but not spiritual radiance.
From that day onwards, Queen Aparajita and the other queens noticed that King Dasarath had grown indifferent towards worldly enjoyments and pleasures and that he had become detached. Shri Ram and his brothers found that their father had become detached from his administrative duties. He used to attend the court only for a short time. He had placed the responsibility of administration on the shoulders of Shri Ram. He had reduced his contact with others. Sometime passed thus. One day the guard of the garden brought some happy news.
"My lord! A great sadhu has come to our garden. He has with him many other sadhus. His name is Satyabhuti. He has the power of reading the mind of anyone. He can see things happening at tremendous distances. He possesses sublime knowLedge. He describes the events that took place ages ago and he can visualize the events that will happen in the future.”
Delighted with the news, King Dasarath presented to the guard expensive garments and ornaments. The guard was immensely happy. He sent word to Ram and Lakshman to make the necessary preparations for a visit to the garden. Very soon, he visited the garden with all the members of his family. He was accompanied by chariots, elephants, horses and the citizens of Ayodhya
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